Twitter to Testify to Congress in Russia Probe

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Latest on the investigations into Russian meddling in the 2016 election (all times local):

3:50 p.m.

The social media giant Twitter has agreed to appear for a public hearing before one of the Senate committees probing Russia's interference in the 2016 election.

A person familiar with the interactions between Twitter and the Senate Intelligence committee says the company will participate in a Nov. 1 public hearing. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the committee's work is confidential.

The committee has been examining how fake accounts on Facebook and Twitter were used by Russians to promote propaganda and misinformation during the 2016 election. Facebook has said it will also participate in the public hearing.

The House intelligence committee also has invited Twitter to appear for a public hearing this month.

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2:50 p.m.

Facebook says it has accepted House and Senate intelligence committees' invitations to testify at hearings on Russian interference in the 2016 election.

Both panels have invited Facebook, Twitter and Google to testify as they investigate Russian efforts to push out divisive social media messages. The House is expected to hold its hearing this month and the Senate next month.

Facebook turned over more than 3,000 Russia-linked ads to both panels this week. The company has said the ads focused on divisive social and political messages, including LGBT issues, immigration and gun rights and were seen by an estimated 10 million people before and after the election.

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1:07 p.m.

The top Democrat on the Senate intelligence committee says there's a "large consensus" that Russians hacked into political files and released that information in an effort to influence the 2016 presidential election.

Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia provided an update on the committee's investigation at a news conference Wednesday. He was joined by committee chairman, Sen. Richard Burr of North Carolina.

The committee is one of several that are investigating Russian interference in the election and potential collusion between Russia and associates of the Trump campaign.

Warner says the Russian effort to sway the election also involved attempts to test the vulnerabilities of 21 states' election systems.

Burr says no vote counts were altered.

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1:03 p.m.

The Republican chairman of the Senate intelligence committee says that the panel won't publicly release the contents of about 3,000 Facebook ads that were linked to Russia.

Sen. Richard Burr of North Carolina says his committee doesn't make documents provided to it public and that includes the contents of the ads.

Facebook turned the ads over to the committee earlier this month as part of the panel's investigation into Russia's meddling in the 2016 election. The committee is examining Russian efforts to push out social media messages on Twitter and Facebook.

Facebook has said the ads focused on divisive social and political messages and were seen by an estimated 10 million people before and after the election.

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12:49 p.m.

The chairman of the Senate intelligence committee says the panel is continuing to investigate possible collusion between Russia and associates of the Trump campaign, but has not reached a conclusion yet.

Sen. Richard Burr, a North Carolina Republican, gave an update Wednesday on the committee's investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. He was joined by the committee's top Democrat, Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia.

Burr says the committee has interviewed more than 100 witnesses as part of its investigation and that more work still needs to be done.

He says "the issue of collusion is still open."

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11:10 a.m.

Leaders of the Senate intelligence committee are set to release preliminary findings about Russian intervention in the 2016 election - and publicly warn states, voters and social media companies about how to prevent any future meddling.

Republican Sen. Richard Burr of North Carolina and Democratic Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia will speak to reporters in the Capitol Wednesday. The idea is to lay out what some of what the committee has found as the 2018 midterm elections approach.

Since Burr and Warner began the investigation in January, the panel has interviewed dozens of intelligence and political officials to assess the extent of Russian interference in last year's election. The committee, along with several others in Congress, is also investigating any connections between the Russian meddling and President Donald Trump's campaign.

(Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

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